Passport to Texas

Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program

We’re in the midst of dove season, which comes with rewards and responsibilities.

We want everybody to have a really good time and be safe while you’re out there. But, so many times we look around a dove area where people have hunted, and we see a lot of trash and debris that the hunter has carried out there.

Hunter education coordinator, Terry Erwin, says leaving trash behind can be harmful to animals that use the land.

Any debris that you took in with you, always take it out. Pick up your hulls especially. The expended shotgun shell hulls that are laying on the ground—cattle will pick those up and eat them. And, sometimes it will be very detrimental to that cattle’s well being.

Packing out whatever you packed in is just one part of being a responsible hunter. The daily bag limit for dove is 15 birds…but what if you shoot your limit and can’t find one of the birds?

If you actually happen to shoot a dove and you can’t find him, although you may only bring home fourteen doves, the one that you didn’t find—let that be part of your bag limit.

Improving your skills and hunting with man’s best friend is all part of responsible hunting.

Always practice and home your shot-gunning skills, and always use a good retriever dog that will help you find that bird so that it’s not wounded and lost.

Find hunting information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

The Sport fish and Wildlife Restoration program…supports our series and is funded by your purchase of hunting and fishing equipment and motorboat fuel…For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and the Sport Fish and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Hunting season is here. And while the last thing a hunter wants to think about is a problem in the field, it pays to be prepared.

That means making sure you have everything that’s available that you need even for a short outing, and then always hunt your plan.

Hunter Education coordinator, Terry Erwin also advises to make others aware of your plan.

In other words, let them know where you’re going to be, what time you intend to leave, and what time you intend to return. If you don’t get back during that specified time, then they know to come looking for you.

Hunters should never go into the field alone; they should have a way to communicate with their partners, either by cell phone or two-way radios. And then there are the maps.

So always keep a topographical map and mark the positions on it of where you’re going to be. If an accident were to happen, and you would need help, always have a ranch map, or have someone who knows the ranch location…because if you’re out in stand number 27, and an accident happens, who in the world is going to know where stand number 27 is? So, have a topo map with the stand locations, and easy access—or a map to get directions for the emergency services to get there if at all needed.

Of course, we hope you never need those services. Find hunting safety information on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

Our show…receives support from the Sport Fish and Wildlife Restoration program…funded by your purchase of hunting and fishing equipment and motorboat fuel…For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

[SFX—western Diamondback Rattling] Hear that? That’s the sound of a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, the deadliest venomous snake in North America. You hear that sound when you’re out hiking, and you better rethink your next step.

The rattle serves the snake well in warning us that, ‘Hey, there’s snake over here; please mind your business and leave me alone.’

Of course, that’s hard to do when they’re hiding from you. Nevertheless, Andy Gluesenkamp, a Parks and Wildlife herpetologist, says rattlesnakes would rather leave you alone.

Unless you’re a mouse.

Right…well…assuming you’re not a mouse, you’re safe. Now here’s something you might not know—other snakes rattle.

A rattlesnake rattles its tail with a rattle on the end that makes a very distinctive buzzing noise that once you’ve heard it you’ll never forget it. However, a lot of snakes will rattle their tail in the same way, and will even back their tail up against some dried leaves or something to give it more effect.

They’re faking? Well, I guess we’ll call those lying snakes.

Snakes that do that a lot include the Texas Rat Snake; Bull Snakes which are another large non-venomous snake; King Snakes. A lot of other snakes that are otherwise harmless use this tail rattling to try to scare away would-be predators.

Find information on Texas snakes at the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration Program…working to restore native habitat in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas Parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

Now that triple digit heat has given way to mild fall weather, you may decide to spend more time outdoors. If you do—my advice—watch your step.

Probably most people who spend any amount of time hiking in Texas have been within arm’s reach of a diamondback and never knew it.

Andy Gluesenkamp is a herpetologist with TPW. Don’t let what he just said about the big, scary venomous Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (the deadliest snake in North America) keep you locked up indoors.

Diamondbacks would by and large much prefer to avoid contact than get in some sort of fisticuffs with a large animal like a human.

These snakes play defense. They usually hang out in the vicinity of fallen logs, brush piles, rocks. If they think you don’t see them, they’ll lie perfectly still and let you do a Dionne Warwick and walk on by.

If they feel threatened by you, the first thing that they’ll do is buzz that rattle. [SFX—western Diamondback Rattling]. On rare occasions when somebody reaches their hands into a crevice, or is picking up firewood and grabs a snake or steps on a snake—then they’re going to react violently. And that’s when people tend to get bitten.

Yeah, so don’t do that. We’ll have more fun with snakes tomorrow.

That’s our show… we receive support from the Wildlife Restoration program…working to restore native habitat in Texas…For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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Passport to Texas from Texas parks and Wildlife and the Wildlife Restoration Program

A drought should end when it starts to rain, right? Well, not necessarily.

This is a major drought we’re in right now. A lot of people think it’s just right now. No it started three years ago.

That’s J. David Bamberger. Two streams at his fifty-five hundred acre ranch dried up ten months ago. At his ranch, Bamberger has created water trapping systems that help make efficient use of water. But even with his conservation system, he couldn’t keep the streams alive.

So, Bamberger says, when the rain cuts back, people need to cut back on their water and land use. Before the drought, Bamberger had two hundred and twenty-five cows on his land. He keeps selling them and now has only sixty-five.

Part of our mission here is to say to landowners, “You can have your cattle. You can have your sheep, your goats, horses. You can be a farmer. You can be a rancher. And you can be a protector of all the species. It’s just being able to manage your land and read natures’ signals and signs that she gives to you.”

Bamberger says he’ll need a lot more rain before his streams flow again.

We’d probably have to have sustained rain up in the twenty to thirty inches in order to get back to that.

…and that could be a while.

That’s our show…with research and writing help from Gretchen Mahan. The Wildlife Restoration program supports our Series. For Texas Parks and Wildlife I’m Cecilia Nasti.

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